Lithium News

The shift towards lithium ion batteries from the older technology of lead acid batteries has allowed firms like Kaho India Private Limited to help the Centre achieve its rural electrification target even in areas beyond the reach of the grid.

Kaho India Private Limited, started in 2012, seeks to provide last-mile energy access through compact solar modules to areas that are so far not connected to the grid. “For instance, in Chhattisgarh, there are various tribal regions with no electricity and the grid cannot reach there maybe for the next 10 years because even roads cannot be built there due to the high intensity of LWE (left wing extremism) activities,” Subhag Jain, CEO, Kaho India Private Limited, told The Hindu.

The device, developed by the company, can power three lights, one fan, one phone charger and has a socket to power a DC-power television. The firm provides all the related appliances as well, except for the TV.

The firm had initially developed a unit using lead acid battery but found that the short lifespan of these batteries rendered the entire product all but useless.

“We imported 10 units for our first try in 2012, and they got sold in no time,” said Mr. Jain said. “At that time, it was priced at ₹5,000. But everybody complained that these systems don’t work.

“We were in a state of shock and excitement that a ₹5,000 product is selling like hot cakes in spite of the customer knowing that they don’t work. Then, we stopped all commercial activity and got into an extensive R&D programme to understand why they don’t work, and what we need to do to get them to work reliably,” he added. “It took two years to identify that the problem was with the battery.” The problem, Mr. Jain explained, was that while the solar panel in the unit had a lifespan of 25 years, the lead acid batteries had a lifespan of only 2-3 years.

“And the battery is 40% of the cost of the product,” he said. “These people don’t want to spend 40% of the cost every 2-3 years to replace the battery and that’s why the perception came that they don’t work.”

‘Search for options’

Subsequently, the firm began looking at other battery options and settled on lithium ion batteries.

“This solved a lot of problems for the customer as well as for a lot of government schemes as well,” he said. “In lead acid batteries, the typical calculation is that you have to put 8 VAh per peak watt of solar panel. In lithium ion, you need to do 4.8 VAh per peak watt. So, you have the size benefit. In a smaller package, we could put in more storage, so it also became cheaper for the government on a per-energy cost basis.”

However, the introduction of the more efficient battery technology was accompanied by a rise in the price of the product. This, though, was not much of a problem for the firm because it decided to sell its products to the government instead of to individual households.

“Now, it priced at ₹50,000 per unit,” Mr. Jain said. “But the government is buying them now under the REC plan and the Saubhagya scheme.”

Another benefit of using lithium ion batteries was that they were much lighter than lead acid batteries, a key issue when delivering these units to remote locations. Also, the charging time had reduced by half with the introduction.

“Lead acid battery is said to be charged at what is called a c/10 rate, that is, it has to be charged for 10 hours,” Mr. Jain said. “In lithium ion batteries, there are certain technologies where you can charge the battery in 10 minutes,” he added.

A while back I was called by a journalist at a prominent paper and asked what I thought about the lithium market. Was it another rare earth metals story – limited supply and rapidly escalating demand? Or, worse, was the world simply going to run out of lithium in the face of surging battery demand and, either way, where did I see prices going?

My position was the world is not short of lithium. It is abundant as an element — it is, or was at the time, just short of scaled-up extraction projects. So, no, I did not see the world running out of lithium but that a healthy run-up in prices would encourage more investment and, hence, increased supply – maybe a less dramatic version of the financing that became available for Mountain Pass after the run-up in REM prices.

Interestingly, the journalist did not print any of my comments — fair enough, as they did not support his position that the world is running out of lithium.

Since then, the prices have indeed doubled. The Financial Times reports the price for lithium carbonate from South America has hit $14,500 a ton over the past two years, quoting Benchmark Minerals Intelligence.

Much of the excitement is due to the rise in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids, and although there is no futures market in Lithium – prices are set in long term contracts – buyers have to contend with a bullish supply market as battery makers scramble to cover forward under long term agreements, as the rise in prices affirms.

Indeed, not only product prices but the share prices of producers is set in large part by predictions on the uptake of electric and hybrid cars.

Back to the main thrust of the Financial Times article, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) is up for sale following regulators enforcement of a sale by parent PotashCorp as a prerequisite of aquiring its Canadian rival Agrium. SQM accounts for more than 20 percent of the world’s lithium supply, making it one of five companies that dominate the global market alongside China’s Ganfeng, Tianqi Lithium, FMC and Albemarle, while its lithium division accounts for 60 percent of SQM’s profits – arguably some high price regulators are demanding PotashCorp pay to acquire Agrium. But that depends very much on what price the market puts on SQM, which in turn depends on how bullish bidders feel about the prospects for electric and hybrid transport.

On February 22, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China issued a notice, which outlines key work points for the industrial energy saving and comprehensive utilization in 2018. The following are the key points for new energy vehicle (NEV) segment.

Push forward the recycling of power battery in NEV segment. The government will formulate and implement tentative measures for the recycling of power battery and promote the establishment of the recycling system. Besides, recycling pilot work will be carried out in key areas. Traceability management standard for power battery should be worked out.

Deepen the pilot demonstration work for methanol-fueled vehicles. The department will speed the establishment of key criteria for such kind of vehicles and promote the development of methanol-fueled vehicles.

Enhance the extended producer responsibility (EPR) system, especially for manufacturers of vehicle products. What’s more, the government will strengthen the restriction on hazardous substances used in vehicle products, electrical and electronic equipment.

Expand international exchange and cooperation. The department will make full use of bilateral and multilateral cooperation system and conduct policy exchange to promote the international cooperation in green industry.

The push for electrical vehicles (EVs) by the National Board for Electric Mobility (NBEM) through policy guidelines is a recent development. It proposes strategic government interventions to encourage the production of environment-friendly alternatives.

Push for eco-friendly cars

India is expected to become the third-largest automobile industry in the world by 2020. An industry that is already large, with an annual production of more than 24 million gas-powered vehicles in FY 2016-17. The introduction of electric vehicles to India came a long time ago, however, the consumer base had shown aversion to adopting these environmentally-friendly cars in the past, no matter how grand the push. The mixture of high costs, lack of choice and lack of charging infrastructure deter possible clients from venturing into this vehicle segment. The government is now attempting to introduce reforms to a number of policies that would streamline the process. There have been plans such as the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) in 2013, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing (FAME) which increased hybrid and electric vehicles in India in 2014, the introduction of the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the National Board for Electric Mobility (NBEM) and the National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) in 2017.

The National Board for Electric Mobility (NBEM)

A few years ago, the UPA government gave the go-ahead for the creation of the NBEM. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, cleared all proposals for the launch of the National Mission for Electric Mobility, under which would come the National Board for Electric Mobility (NBEM) and the National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM). While the NCEM would be more of a political forum headed by misters, the NBEM would work as a junior body at the executive level. However, the constitution came after more than six years, with the aim of promoting electric mobility and manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicles, along with their components.

According to the Press Trust of India, the NBEM’s aim will be to inspect, define and propose immediate, along with long-term, reforms. It will also design and structure the mission of the program. With a keen focus on electric portability delivering quantifiable results, it is important to delineate the roles and obligations of its different partners clearly. It will propose and suggest strategy rules, government interventions and conceivable methods for advancing electric portability for empowering the production of electric vehicles in the nation. The Board would be chaired by the Secretary of Department of Heavy Industry and would compromise of senior bureaucrats, including secretaries from departments such as the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Power, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, among others. The NBEM would then resolve any difference of opinion that arises, if any, between the various ministries. The proposal to restructure was broached by the government think tank, Niti Aayog, for “providing a leadership and inter-ministerial coordination.”

Is there a need for a change?

The shift from diesel vehicles to electric vehicles may help combat the arduous problem that is air pollution, along with noise pollution. Being an environment-friendly option, it will act as a counter-effect to the lack of regulation in emission norms and control. Moreover, it would help reduce oil imports. At present, most cars are powered by oil, resulting in large bills for the country. The adoption of electric vehicles will provide the country with energy security. Nitin Gadkari, the current minister for Road Transport and Highways, aims to make 2030 the year from which no petrol or diesel vehicles stay on the roads.

Feasibility of the initiative

However, the challenges to making electric cars a reality are abundant. One of the largest issues is the creation and introduction of new infrastructures, such as charging stations. The government would also have to set up an additional power supply and generation infrastructure, adding to cost of the vehicles. Both productions as well as selling cost would act as a great deterrent to its introduction. Battery technology, since lithium is still the best source, would also act as a barrier. Admittingly, India is scarce in lithium and imports it in great amounts, hence the chance would lessen that burden.

One of NBEM’s most critical capacities would be to investigate and suggest any joint efforts and tie-ups for procurement of technology and technical experts. The technology scenario in India is currently not capable enough to be able to match up to their competitors, which proves to be a huge hurdle. Despite significant efforts made by private manufacturers, it is only the government that can help by chalking out realistic policies in favour of the electric vehicles. An orderly and sustainable action plan is in urgent demand to create a space favourable for its assembly and usage. To resolve these hindrances and for a successful take-off, it is fundamental that the government proceeds with effective mediation, coordinated effort among all stakeholders and a long-term commitment with a clearly specified approach that encompasses all these factors.

U.S. batteries manufacturer Energizer revealed an image that confirms the company will be launching a 16,000mAh battery powered Power Max P16K Pro smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 held at Barcelone.

GSMArena reported that the handset will be featuring a 5.99-inch FHD+ display that will carry support for 2160 x 1080 pixels resolution. It will be delivering an aspect ratio of 18:9. The MediaTek Helio P25 chipset will be powering the handset along with 6 GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 128 GB.

The backside of the phone is flanked with 13-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual camera setup. It has a selfie snapper of 8-megapixel.

Energizer claims that the phone is “ultra slim”. You can expect it to be as razor thin as a 16,000 mAh phone can possibly be.

Power Max p16K Pro will be the world first smartphone with this large capacity of the battery as previously, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer Dooge BL12000 which was powered by 12,000mAh battery and won the Guinness World Record.

Price and availability details of the Energizer P16K Pro are yet to emerge.

As we reported last week and discussed on the Electrek podcast yesterday, many people still have a difficult time wrapping their head around the Tesla Semi specs that the company announced last year.

But now CEO Elon Musk says that he is ‘optimistic’ they can beat those specs with the production version of the electric truck.

Earlier this week, Daimler’s head of trucks suggested that the Tesla Semi specs defy the laws of physics and is passing them by if they are true.

The German automaker added itself to a long list of industry people with doubts about Tesla’s ability to deliver on those specs.

But Tesla is currently testing its electric truck with partners who get a better idea of the capacity of the machine.

Musk seems to be gaining confidence in the specs through the test program and yesterday, he commented on our article about DHL seeing greater potential savings than expected with the Tesla Semi:

“Am feeling optimistic about beating the Semi specs announced at the unveiling for the same price. The Tesla Semi will be something really special.”

-Elon Musk

Musk didn’t specify which specs in particular, but the article mainly involves the economics of operating a Tesla Semi, which is the most important thing for fleet operators.

Here are the main specs that Tesla revealed at the unveiling event:

• Acceleration from 0 to 60 mph with 80,000 lb: 20 seconds
• Speed up a 5% Grade:60 mph
• Mile Range: 300 or 500 miles
• Powertrain: 4 Independent Motors on Rear Axles
• Energy Consumption: Less than 2 kWh per mile
• Fuel Savings: $200,000+
• Expected Base Price (300 mile range): $150,000
• Expected Base Price(500 mile range): $180,000

Tesla estimates a payback period of about 2 years thanks to gas and maintenance savings.